That’s the title of a festival of documentary films about a variety of historic theatres — saved, lost and on the brink. The venue is the Portage Theatre, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Chicago, as a part of the Portage Film Forum.

The tenative schedule includes the following films: “Preserve Me a Seat,” “Uptown: Portrait of a Palace,” “Loew’s Paradise Theatre,” and “The Wizard of Austin Boulevard.”

A “theatre preservation discussion panel” will also be a part of the festival.

What an excellent festival, although you may end up wrecked and crying at the end of the weekend, with so much melancholy and sadness. Let’s hope the discussion can stirr things up and make people walk out with a smile? Or maybe not, it is very serious business. Jim made a shorter version of Preserve me, which is even better I think.
When I showed it, I had about a dozen framed enlargement of old postcards on display. You could do something likewise, let me know if you need help (I have hundreds of scanned postcards). There’s also a documentary on the Joy and other theatres of New Orleans.
In all, I wish you all the luck and lots of visitors!